THE BLUE BOOK The Standing Commission on Church Music CONTENTS A. Membership B. Summary of the Commission's Work C. Financial Report D. Special Resolutions Proposed by the Commission E. Goals and Objectives for the Coming Triennium F. Proposed Budget for the Triennium G. Proposed Resolutions for Budget Appropriations A. MEMBERSHIP The Rt. Rev. Robert Hargrove, Jr., Alexandria, Louisiana (1997) The Rt. Rev. Jeffery W. Rowthorn, Paris, France (1994) The Rev. Herbert G. Draesel, Jr., New York, N.Y., resigned, replaced by The Rev. Elizabeth Morris Downie, Fenton, Michigan (1994) The Rev. Henry I. Louttit, Jr., Vice-Chair, Valdosta, Georgia (1994) The Rev. Catherine M. Nichols, Secretary, Middlebury, Vermont (1997) The Rev. Curtis Sisco, New Orleans, Louisiana, deceased, replaced by The Rev. Canon Margaret Sue Reid, Indianapolis, Indiana (1997) Sr. Jose R. Chavez, San Salvador, El Salvador (1997) Tolly Estes, Fort Thompson, South Dakota, resigned, replacedby Marilyn Haskel, Walnut Creek, California (1997) Dr. Marilyn J. Keiser, Bloomington, Indiana (1994) Sr. Bernardo Murray, Panama City, Panama (1997) Betty Carr Pulkingham, Burlington, North Carolina (1994) Dr. William Bradley Roberts, Chair, Tucson, Arizona (1994) Dr. Carol Doran, Rochester, New York, Consultant Raymond Glover, Alexandria, Virginia, Consultant John Williams, Stratford, Connecticut, Consultant Representatives of the Commission at General Convention: The Rt. Rev. Robert Hargrove, Jr., House of Bishops, is authorized by the Commission to receive non-substantive amendments to the report. The Rev. Henry I. Louttit, Jr., House of Deputies, is authorized to receive non-substantive amendments to the report. 402 MUSIC B. SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION'S WORK Meetings During the Triennium The Standing Commission on Church Music met twice each year in this triennium. These meetings were usually at an Episcopal seminary, which served to facilitate our communication with and understanding of the Church. In addition to the meetings of the full commission, the three committees of the Commission met once a year on average. Each commissioner served on a committee with a specially focused task. These committees were: Liturgical Worship as Evangelism, Music in the Small Church, and Supplemental Music Materials. The Focus of the Commission's Work Members of the Standing Commission on Church Music have sensed strongly that our vocation for this triennium was to be serving the small congregation. On the basis of surveys, as a result of our listening to the concerns of seminary communities where we met, and in conversations we had with the Standing Commission on the Church in Small Communities, we were convinced that it was the congregations with small numbers and modest resources that were in dire need of practical assistance with their music. It seemed to us that medium size and large congregations often have both the leadership and the resources to implement effective music ministries. Moreover, statistics indicated to us that the Episcopal Church comprises predominantly small congregations, and we discovered that it is this segment of the Church that most often feels that materials and programs do not address their needs. Therefore, in each area of our work during this triennium we have endeavored to respond to the concerns of the small congregation. Liturgical Worship as Evangelism This committee originated in the last triennium as a result of joint work with the Standing Commission on Evangelism. The Chair of the Standing Commission on Church Music appointed Betty Carr Pulkingham Chair of the Committee on Liturgical Worship as Evangelism, and Robert Hargrove and Henry Louttit served as members of the committee. Responding to a need for more helpful communication with the Church at the local parish level, a need underlined by the Commission's visitation to seminaries, the Committee on Liturgical Worship as Evangelism sponsored a series of articles to stimulate the laity's thinking about music, to draw attention to new resources, and to encourage and facilitate the use of The Hymnal 1982. The articles, listed by title and author, follow: Singing the Good News, Betty and the Rev. Graham Pulkingham Singing the Full Life ofFaith, Dr. Carol Doran With Psaltery, Pipe and Organ, Dr. Marilyn Keiser Music for Worship: Where to FindIt, Dr. William Bradley Roberts On Singing Psalms, Kevin Hackett, S.C.C. What is Your Appendix Good For?, The Rev. Carl P. Daw, Jr. 403 THE BLUE BOOK The series of articles was sent to the editor of each diocesan newspaper, to the chair of each diocesan music and liturgy commission, and to the resident musician-liturgist of each Episcopal seminary. The committee also conducted a "musical practice" survey of twenty churches already noted for their effectiveness in evangelism, and featured in the publications To Seek and to Serve by Anne Rowthorn, and Faith, Focus and Leadership by Peter Stebinger. The survey is on file in the office of the Program Coordinator for Liturgy and Music at the Church Center. Findings from the study included the following: * Ethnic churches employ music as an effective expression of corporate life. * A critical need for music leadership was voiced by small churches (See the report of the Committee on Music in Small Churches.) * Several of the clergy interviewed expressed concern about the level of sophistication required to use The Hymnal 1982, and requested that the music commission "de-professionalize" church music so that small churches can have broader access to it. The work of the Commission during this triennium has reaffirmed our belief that music and liturgy are effective tools of evangelism for the Episcopal Church. Supplemental Music Materials The SCCM Chair appointed Jeffery Rowthorn Chair of the Committee on Supplemental Music Materials. Upon his move to Paris, Bishop Rowthorn was succeeded by Elizabeth Morris Downie as chair of the committee. Serving as members were Marilyn Haskel and William Bradley Roberts. Resolution A139 of the 1991 General Convention called for "a series of supplements to The Hymnal 1982, to provide the Church with additional service music, inclusive language hymnody, additional texts in languages other than English, additional hymnody related to the lectionary and rites of the Book of Common Prayer, and texts and tunes written since the compiling of the present Hymnal." As a response to the overwhelming need expressed by bishops and others in the Church who are sensitive to the musical conditions in small congregations, the Committee on Supplemental Music Materials prepared the first of these supplements, Simplified Accompaniments, during this triennium. John E. Williams of Stratford, Conn., served as the editor of this volume, and the Commission expresses its deep appreciation and gratitude for his musical, organizational, and editorial skills, and the excellence of his work. This collection is designed to assist congregations in using The Hymnal 1982 by providing keyboard arrangements suitable for a third-year piano student for 98 hymn tunes, and guitar chords for most of them. The great majority of the tunes might be described as standards of Anglican hymn repertory in this country, but a number of newer hymns are also included. Care was taken that there be hymnody available for the entire liturgical year and the rites of the Prayer Book. The collection also includes numerous suggestions of other Hymnal texts that may be sung to the tunes included. This project was given priority because of the great volume of comment the Commission received about the need for such a book, particularly in smaller congregations. 404 MUSIC So that subsequent supplements meet the actual needs of congregations and include materials that people are already finding useful in worship, Bishop Rowthorn enlisted the aid of the members of the House of Bishops in identifying congregations across the country that "put their limited choral, instrumental and financial resources to imaginative, creative and effective use in their services of worship." These congregations received questionnaires that asked them to identify areas in which they felt the need for additional resources, and to list settings of liturgical texts which worked well in small or medium- sized congregations. The response to these questionnaires was substantial and heartening, and is guiding this committee as it searches for materials for the second supplemental volume, which will contain music in all the categories mentioned in the resolution quoted above. Materials are being received, and by June 1, 1994, the committee and an editorial consultant will have begun work on the next supplement. Our continuing concern is identifying the musical needs of congregations in the changing Church, and providing materials to meet those needs. Ecumenical Spanish Hymnal A new project that has been initiated during this triennium is to create a hymnal in Spanish. This is a cooperative venture among Episcopalians, Presbyterians and the United Church of Christ. The General Editor of the hymnal is Raquel Ach6n of Bell, California (Diocese of Los Angeles). The Chair of the Standing Commission on Church Music appointed commission member Bernardo Murray of Panama as representative to the Comitj ecumenico del hymnario Espaiol (Ecumenical Spanish Hymnal Committee). Clay Morris, Program Coordinator for Liturgy and Music at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, also serves on the board. A sampler of the ecumenical Spanish hymnal is to be available by the spring of 1994, and it is hoped that music from the new book will be incorporated into the worship at General Convention in Indianapolis. Music in Small Churches Marilyn Keiser was asked by the Chair of the Standing Commission on Church Music to serve as Chair of the Committee on Music in Small Churches. Other members of the committee are Catherine Nichols, Sue Reid, Jose Chavez, and Bernardo Murray, with Carol Doran and Raymond Glover serving as consultants. For many years the Standing Commission on Church Music has discussed and dreamed of developing a training program designed to assist musicians who serve in small churches throughout this country and beyond.